In our walk with Christ, we can rest our minds from the fear of falling. Jude 1:24 says, 'Now unto HIM that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of HIS GLORY with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Savior, be GLORY and MAJESTY, dominion and POWER, both now and ever. Amen.'
II Corinthians 1:20-22 states, 'For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the GLORY OF GOD by us. Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is GOD; Who hath also SEALED US, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.' KJV
In The New Living Translation, verse 22, 'He has identified us as His own by placing the HOLY SPIRIT in our hearts as the first installment of everything HE will give us.'
Ephesians 1:12-14, 'That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ. In Whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in Whom also after that ye believed, ye WERE SEALED with that HOLY SPIRIT of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance UNTIL the REDEMPTION of the PURCHASED possession, unto the praise of His glory.' KJV
The New Living Translation, verses 13 and 14, 'And now you also have heard the truth, the good news that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the HOLY SPIRIT, Whom He promised long ago. The SPIRIT is God's guarantee that He will give us everything He promised and that He has PURCHASED us to be HIS own people. This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God.'
The Good News of the Gospel in II Corinthians 5:17, tells us, 'Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he IS a new creature: Old things are passed away; behold, all things become NEW'.
MERCY AND COMPASSION OF GOD INEXHAUSTIBLE Lamentations 3:22-23, 'It is of the Lord's MERCIES that we are not consumed, because His COMPASSIONS fail not. They are NEW every morning: Great is Thy FAITHFULNESS.' Our God is a faithful God. Surely, He has given us a faultless Plan in CHRIST JESUS, our SAVIOR.
THE MYSTERY OF THE RAPTURE
The REDEMPTION of the physical BODY is promised. Our physical BODY will be redeemed in the 2nd REDEMPTION, whether at death or in the RAPTURE when we are given a NEW BODY that will have no corruption at all and will never die.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18, 'But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.’
‘For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.'
The New Living Translation says of these verses, ‘And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again; we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died.’
‘I can tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will RISE from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever. So comfort and encourage each other with these words.’
At the time of the Rapture, there will be saints living on the Earth that will be changed in a moment and will receive a NEW BODY. At that time, the “dead in Christ” whose spirits have already gone to Heaven, will come in a NEW BODY with Jesus in the clouds to meet the living saints in the air. These “dead” saints will have already received their NEW BODY when they join Jesus for the meeting.
The apostle Paul speaks of a mystery in I Corinthians 15:51 concerning these bodies, ‘Behold I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be RAISED incorruptible, and we shall be changed.’
It is uncertain if the mystery concerns the BODY of the living or the BODY of the dead saint at the time of the Rapture:
1. There is a “mystery” of HOW the living saint is changed in a moment at the time of the Rapture. 2. There is a “mystery” concerning what kind of body the “dead” saint will receive and WHEN they will receive it.
The mystery of the body of the "dead in Christ" is discussed in I Corinthians 15:35. The New Living Translation says, 'But someone may ask, "How will the dead be raised; what kind of bodies will they have?" Many believe the “dead” are spirits without bodies until the Rapture, but Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would be with him THAT VERY DAY in Paradise because he believed in Him. It is certain the spirit of the “dead in Christ” is RAISED to where Christ is at the moment of death, even though their earthly body goes to the dust.
The New Living Translation, I Corinthians 15:36-40 speaks of a SPIRITUAL BODY in the answer to the above question, 'What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn't grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a dry little seed of wheat or whatever it is you are planting. Then God gives it a NEW BODY--just the kind He wants it to have. A different kind of plant grows from each kind of seed. And just as there are different kinds of seeds and plants, so also there different kinds of flesh--whether of humans, animals, birds, or fish. There are bodies in the heavens and there are bodies on the Earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the beauty of the earthly bodies.'
Verses 42-44, 'It is the same way for the resurrection of the dead; our earthly bodies, which die and decay, will be different when they are resurrected, for they will never die. Our bodies now disappoint us, but when they are raised, they will be full of glory. They are weak now, but when they are raised, they will be full of power. They are natural human bodies now, but when they are raised, they will be spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, so also there are SPIRTUAL BODIES.' NLT These scriptures can be read to mean the dead in Christ receive a new "spiritual body" in Heaven WHEN it is "raised".
The great mystery of WHEN the body of the "dead in Christ" is RAISED is also mentioned in I Thessalonians 4:13, 14. It says, 'But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus, will God BRING with Him. Verse 15 states clearly that the living saints will not be first in the Rapture, but it will be the dead that are "raised" first with a NEW BODY.
John 5:24-29 in the New Living Translation Jesus said, 'I assure you, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. And I assure you that the time is coming, in fact it is here, when the dead will hear my voice---the voice of the Son of God; and those who listen will live. The Father has life in Himself, and He has granted His Son to have life in Himself. And He has given him authority to judge all mankind because He is the Son of Man. Don't be surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God's Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to judgment.'
2ND REDEMPTION SCRIPTURES -
Romans 8:23, the Apostle Paul speaks of a “groaning” within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY. KJV
The New Living Translation in II Corinthians 5:1 says this REDEMPTION is a NEW BODY that is promised to us when we die: 'For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down--when we die and leave these bodies--we will have a home in heaven, an eternal BODY made for us by God Himself and not by human hands.'
The King James Version says of this verse, 'For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.'
II CORINTHIANS 5:2-4, the Apostle Paul speaks again of a “groaning”: 'For in this, we "groan", earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being "burdened": not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of LIFE.' KJV
The "burden" referred to here is the "corrupt nature" still in the HEART and MIND of the believer that wars with the REDEEMED SOUL, and our aging physical bodies.
The Living Translation says of these verses: 'We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long for the day when we will put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will NOT be spirits without bodies, but we will put on a new heavenly BODY.'
Our walk in Christ will lead us to the 2ND REDEMPTION of our earthly bodies to glorious heavenly bodies, where we will live with our Lord and our God forever in His ETERNAL KINGDOM! AMEN AND AMEN!
LOOK UP Rejoice Friend! For the KINGDOM OF GOD IS GIVEN UNTO YOU. Hold onto it with ALL your HEART, MIND and SOUL! Never let it slip from you!
The apostle Paul said in II Timothy 4:6-7, 'For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH: Henceforth there is laid up for me a CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: And not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE HIS APPEARING.'
The New Living Translation says of these verses, 'As for me, my life has already been poured out as an OFFERING to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained FAITHFUL. And now the prize awaits me--THE CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS that the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that great day of His return. And the prize is not just for me but all who eagerly look forward to His glorious return.'
Luke 21:27-28 says, 'And then shall they see the SON of MAN coming in a cloud with POWER and GREAT GLORY. And when these things begin to come to pass, then, LOOK UP, and LIFT UP YOUR HEADS; for your REDEMPTION draweth nigh.'
The 2nd REDEMPTION IS NEAR, EVEN AT THE DOOR.
Jesus says in Revelations 22:20-21, "Surely I come quickly". Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The GRACE of our LORD JESUS CHRIST; be with you all.' KJV
MAY THE LORD GRANT ETERNAL LIFE TO YOU, IN JESUS NAME.
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